PHILADELPHIA - North Dakota wide receiver Jameer Jackson (Brooklyn Park, Minn.) was one of 20 freshman in the Football Championship Subdivision named a finalist for the Jerry Rice Award on Monday.

Jackson put together one of the best seasons ever by a freshman wideout at UND, finishing with 56 catches for 709 yards and six touchdowns. He finished with a pair of 100-yard receiving games and had at least two catches in all 11 games this season.

Jackson had a season-high nine catches at Eastern Washington (Oct. 6) and caught eight passes for a season-high 124 yards in the win over Montana (Oct. 20).

The Rice Award, in its second year, is named for legendary wide receiver Jerry Rice, who was a two-time first-team All-American in the FCS (then Division I-AA) at Mississippi Valley State. The award will be voted on by a national panel of sports information and media relations directors, broadcasters, writers and other dignitaries this week, and presented at the FCS Awards Banquet and Presentation on Dec. 17 in Philadelphia.